Third shave, some progress...

Hello all -

I just received my Boker King Cutter and accessories from SRD (yes, the same great deal that a lot of newbies have found recently) and I am pretty pumped with how it's gone so far.

On the first day, I took Lynn's advice and only shaved my dominant side, sideburn to jawline. I couldn't believe the razor burn! Also, it looked like I pretty much wiped the lather off with the razor, but didn't cut any hair. I thought that was pretty interesting, as I was sure that my razor was shave ready. I figured that I must have done something wrong. Checking on this forum, I found a few posts that exactly mirrored my experience (3 days beard growth, same razor, same result). The comments made were extremely helpful, and I endeavored to give it another go on another day. So I shaved everything else with my disposable razor.

For the second act, I had about 24 hours of growth. I showered, tried mixing my lather up a bit differently, stropped the razor, and set to it. I concentrated on the angle of attack, and the results were somewhat better. I shaved the entire right side of my face, WTG. When I was done, I examined both sides of my face. Both sides looked remarkably similar; I hadn't cut much hair at all it seemed. Now I really started thinking, "did I fold the edge while I was stropping?" Maybe, but I was pretty careful. Again, I read the forum, and found that I was not unique. The forum is great for bestowing additional motivation in the face of adversity.

Third try was this morning. This time I stropped the razor especially carefully, both on the linen (~25 passes) and the leather (~50 passes). Shower, lather, and shave. I pulled the skin tight, managed the angle, and kept a light touch. Voila! My right side felt great. I switched to the other side, and...not too bad! I decided to go for it all. The chin is one tough area, but I'll figure that out as well. No nicks, a pretty good shave, near BBS in a couple of places. And I'm pretty darn excited about my new venture.

The key for me has been to slow down. I used to shave everything above my neck (minus eyebrows) within 15 minutes, start to finish. I like the methodical approach that I took today, and it seemed to help. I'm really looking forward to learning more, and everyone on this forum has been most helpful. Thanks for all the great advice; keep it up!

Having fun,
Sam

Great to hear! Sounds like you are progressing along quite well!

So do you think it was stropping technique or shaving technique that made a difference?

Congrats on the shave. Keep at it, the shaves just keep getting beter!!

I'm about 3-4 days ahead of you, Sam, with my Dovo Prima Klang from SRD. I think, at least so far, that good stropping, taking your time, and practice are all key ingredients. I can get a decent WTG shave. I tried an XTG, and just am not ready to do that yet - razor burn and a few nicks.

It will be interesting to compare notes. I remember the learning curve when I began shaving with a safety razor a few years ago. I thought it was pretty steep, since it took a couple of months to feel like I knew what I was doing. I have a hunch that the straight learning curve is way steeper and will take a few more months beyond the few months to master. But I'm not in a big hurry, which I hope will help.

--Bob

Way to go man. It does take some slowing down like you said you did. I learned that the hard way, lots of razor burn. But with a light touch and taking your time it makes for a better shave. I have been shaving for a month and the chin still gives me trouble, so dont worry, it will happen.

I need to get me a Boker one day, I only have Dovo's from SRD's monthly specials.

Keep on shaving. Brian

I seem to have followed the same path you are on. Tonight will be attempt #10 and I am getting a little better but progress is slow. I need to dig around this site more and hopefully find the same advice.

JeffH

I am going to try my second attemp tonight, thanks for the encouragement.